Family Project 65 C10 SWB "Old Blue"

[Clrussell]

Nice work. I might have to order a set of those headers

[JamieGallien]

UDPATES! We got the frame painted this weekend. It's not show quality, but that's not what I was after. I just wanted the frame protected. it turned out much better than just that. I'm very pleased with how it turned out.

Whole family working on the frame



The finished product!

[JamieGallien]

Some pics of the rest of the suspension parts coated with POR. Turned out nice.

Next step: assemble the front end and get her up on wheels to roll into the garage for assembly!

[JamieGallien]

Ordered the fuse block parts for the 5.3 electronics today. See below for the list:

OBD2 Diagnostic Port
Parts Vendor Part# Qty Needed
OBD2 Port Plastic Connector, 16 Pin www.mouser.com 829-12110250 1
Terminals - for OBD2 port www.mouser.com 829-12129373 4
Terminal Lock - secures terminals www.mouser.com 829-12160437 2

Fuse Block & Relays
Parts Vendor Part# Qty Needed
Fuse Block Housing kit (terminals included) www.rockauto.com 85668 1

Relay Socket www.allelectronics.com SRLY-2 2
Relay 30 Amp www.allelectronics.com RLY-351 2
Relay Terminal 14-18 AWG www.mouser.com 571-42238-2 8

[JamieGallien]

We got the frame laid down and rear wheels on it last night. Found a few places that we missed with the POR. We'll be taking care of those this week. It's not perfect, but if you look back through this thread you can compare what we started with. It still looks so much better than it did. Very happy with the results.

[jimmythompson1964]

I’m a fan of those wheels

[JamieGallien]

Originally Posted by jimmythompson1964

I’m a fan of those wheels

I don't really care for those, they were just what I had laying around after my wife had a flat and I put my 2009 Z71 wheels tires on her Yukon. The z71 were intended for old blue. You can see those further back in this blog.

Since I had to give them up for her truck, I've been thinking about buying 18' or 20' versions of the rally wheels for the truck. I love that look.

[JamieGallien]

No pics, but I did get out in the garage over the New Year's weekend and clean up the front a-arms. I had to get all of the POR-15 out of the ball joint holes, etc. That stuff is hard as a rock!

I hope to have some pics of the completed front end this week, and get her on all fours. More to come...

[JamieGallien]

More UPDATES!

We finished cleanup and assembly of the lower a-arms. For those wondering about how to put the lower a-arms together, this is how I did it:

-Rubber bushings go on small side in.
-Grease/lube everything
-Start the endcaps at the same time, turn in 1/2 turn at a time keeping the distance between the ears of the a-arm even with the end edges of the shaft the same (where the small part of the bushing seats).
-Keep turning the end caps 1/2 turn in until 100ft-lbs torque.

[JamieGallien]

Lower a-arm ball joint went in with just easy slow taps of a hammer.

I lost one of the lower a-arm u-bolts in the shuffle of disassembly, so I purchase 9/16 upgrades (the old u-bolts were 7/16) from O-Reilly's. Dorman 13503 for reference. Simply drilled out the holes in the frame with a 9/16 bit. The frame is mild steel and drilled pretty easily even with a cordless drill. It may seem like the holes need elongated a bit to fit the larger u-bolts, but they don't. Just a little tap with a hammer gets them started. Finished installing the lower a-arms and torqued u-bolts to 85ft-lbs.

[JamieGallien]

My youngest son helped me repair some threads in the LS that's going into old blue. It had the typical outer header bolts broken off into it. I drilled them out and replaced the threads with 3/8-16 bolts. Should hold tight and be more resistant to breaking in the future I hope.

[JamieGallien]

Now we're getting something done! Got the engine and transmission mated back together and dropped the engine into the frame last night. Disc conversion kit should be in today. More to come! Fired UP!

[Captainfab]

Looks like you worked someone too hard.....LOL

[JamieGallien]

Originally Posted by Captainfab

Looks like you worked someone too hard.....LOL

15 years old, he just wants to drive it lol! He's loving working on it though. Bugs me everyday to go down to the garage after work. Keeps me motivated!

[JamieGallien]

My daughter helped me spray paint the disc brake conversion kit this weekend. She would kill me for putting up a pic with her wet hair, lol. 2 coats of primer and 4 coats of black gloss enamel. Turned out pretty nice. Still gotta get pics of the parts installed.

[JamieGallien]

My headers have extensions where the O2 sensors go. I tacked the bolts in so it would be like having studs when I install the exhaust.

With that said, dad's new Eastwood 175 welder is the bomb! So much more capable than the old Lincoln 100 we use to have.

[JamieGallien]

Last night I ordered the gas tank, brake lines, an upper a-arm bumper, and shocks. I'm planning to do a video of the disc brake and gas tank install. We'll see how that goes.

[JamieGallien]

I got one side of the disc brake conversion and shock installed on the front. Lookin' good if I do say so myself! I'm def going to do a video on the install of the front end. I see a lot fo ?'s in here about it, and it's really not that hard if you know the steps.

[JamieGallien]

My son helped me finish re-taping the wiring harness after modifying it. After a test-fit, it look like I'm going to have to extend the injector connectors and coil connector on the drives side in order to have all the wires start in the cab with the computer and come up under the intake.

[JamieGallien]

Gas tank and brake lines came in yesterday. My son and I mocked up the tank, looks like it's going to fit just great. Pics to come.

[JamieGallien]

Removed the old distribution blocks from the old brake lines. Make sure you save these! They don't come with any of the brake line kits that I've seen.

[JamieGallien]

Had some help painting the gas tank before installation.

[JamieGallien]

More help from my oldest to clean up and paint the steering control shaft (name?) and power steering pump.

[Homebuilt Hotrods]

Very nice work! Love the engine mount idea!

[JamieGallien]

Did some measuring, bending, and drilling to get the tank place where I want it. Have the side fill tank, instead of cutting the frame like most, I just bent it to clear using an adjustable wrench. It was surprisingly easy to bend. I used 3/4" spacers to drop the tank enough to clear the bed support rails. I'm going to have to change to 1/2" spacers so the side fill tube will clear the frame.